Archive for August 19th, 2011

Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the News of the World phone hacking, has been ordered by a court to reveal who instructed him to access the voicemails of model Elle MacPherson and five other public figures including Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes.

The news that the News of the World’s former Hollywood reporter James Desborough is the latest person to be arrest in the hacking case, raises the possibility that transgressions happened in the US too.

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Pro Publica has issued an important article assessing the economy (via Ritholtz). One of the most important things it does is explain what happened with the stimulus money:

The Recovery Act as passed was estimated to cost about $787 billion. More than a third of that was tax cuts, and another third was entitlements, such as unemployment benefits and Medicaid assistance. Of the $275 billion in spending by federal agencies, less than $200 billion was dedicated to projects.

The projected cost of the Recovery Act is now $830 billion, largely because of the qualification of more people qualifying for entitlements and the popularity of some tax credits.

As we criticize Obama for other things, it’s important to remember that no Republican would have done this, and we certainly would have had a second Great Depression. He could have done more. He should have done more. But what he did saved this country.

The projects that were built are particularly interesting. Here’s a screen shot just to give a flavor.